Bowling Green State University
BUFFALO
Buffalo Nips BGSU, 4-3
March 30, 2007 | Women's Tennis
March 30, 2007
BUFFALO, N.Y. (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University tennis team won the doubles point, but the host University at Buffalo rallied back to take four singles matches en route to a 4-3 win Friday afternoon (March 30). The Mid-American Conference match was held at the University Tennis Club.
With the win, the Bulls improve to 11-1 overall and 3-0 in MAC action. UB, the defending MAC runner-up, was picked to finish second in the conference in the 2006-07 preseason coaches poll. The Falcons, tabbed to finish fifth, drop to 9-5 and 1-1, respectively.
The loss snapped a four-match winning streak for the Falcons, who lost for only the second time in the last 10 matches. The win extended UB's winning streak to five matches.
BGSU won at the first and third flights to take the doubles point. The duo of sophomore Stefanie Menoff and freshman Samantha Kintzel made quick work of their UB foes, downing Katrin Fischer and Diana Toia by an 8-2 result at the third flight.
The Bulls picked up a win with an 8-4 victory at the second doubles flight, but -- with the doubles point on the line -- soph Kelsey Jakupcin and junior Jenna Nussbaum rallied from a 7-5 deficit to force a tiebreaker at the top flight, then won that tiebreaker over Andreea Novaceanu and Denise Harijanto to take the point.
In singles play, however, the Bulls won four-straight matches to take the decision. UB's Miglena Nenova, the Bulls' all-time wins leader, topped senior Ashley Jakupcin at the top flight, while Natalie Dean downed Nussbaum at flight number four, giving the Bulls a 2-1 lead.
Harijanto blanked Kintzel in their opening set at the second flight, but the Falcon frosh battled back with a 6-4 win in the second set, forcing a third set. In that set, the two were on serve through the first seven games before Harijanto was able to break Kintzel's serve in the eighth and close out the match on her racquet.
At the fifth flight, UB's Smaranda Stan was able to squeak past freshman Katia Babina in two narrow sets. Stan needed a first-set tiebreaker to win, posting a 7-3 decision in that 'breaker, then posted a 7-5 win in the second set.
Kelsey Jakupcin topped Novaceanu in a first-set tiebreaker at the third flight, but saw her opponent knot the score to force a deciding set. In that third set, however, Jakupcin posted a 6-3 win.
In the final match to finish, Menoff dropped her first set at the sixth flight by a 6-2 score, but rallied back to defeat Tina Jacob, 6-4 and 6-1, in the next two sets for the win.
Kelsey Jakupcin and Menoff each are now 2-0 in MAC singles matches this season. Menoff has an overall singles record of 18-2 and a team-leading 31 total wins this year. Jakupcin improved her singles mark to 13-7 this season to date.
UB's victory was only the Bulls' second in the all-time series between the teams. The Falcons hold an overall 9-2 series lead, but UB has won the last two matches after BG took nine-straight contests from the Bulls.
The Falcons remain on the road, heading to the Rubber City to face the University of Akron on Saturday afternoon (March 31). First serve is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
BUFFALO 4, BOWLING GREEN 3
Friday, March 30 // University Tennis Club
Doubles
1 - Kelsey Jakupcin/Jenna Nussbaum (BGSU) def. Andreea Novaceanu/Denise
Harijanto 9-8 (5)
2 - Miglena Nenova/Natalie Dean (UB) def. Katia Babina/Andrea Volle 8-4
3 - Sam Kintzel/Stefanie Menoff (BGSU) def. Katrin Fischer/Diana Toia 8-2
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1 - Nenova (UB) def. Ashley Jakupcin 6-1, 6-0
2 - Harijanto (UB) def. Kintzel, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
3 - K. Jakupcin (BGSU) def. Novaceanu 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3
4 - Dean (UB) def. Nussbaum 6-3, 6-3
5 - Smaranda Stan (UB) def. Babina 7-6 (3), 7-5
6 - Menoff (BGSU) def. Tina Jacob 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 1,4,2,5,3,6
